Mice Parade

The new record from Mice Parade is their first in the band’s second decade of existence – and if you haven’t already heard of them, you should start with this album.

A joyous mix of rhythmic West African drumbeats, indie rock and Swahili vocals, What It Means to be Left-Handed is optimistic, soaring and entirely epit­omises what music should be. Founding member, Adam Pierce’s philosophy for the record was “music was just music, and its very existence was its purpose.”

Switching from Highlife to anthemic, rousing guitars reminiscent of Sigur Rós, to quiet acoustic finger-picked rhythms and pseudo-electronica, this album does everything right. Opener Kupanda is a soulful, frolicking affair with traditional kora melodies. The sheer variety of instrumentation, vocals and languages make Mice Parade’s latest offering absolutely delightful. It’s an album of blazing sunshine for the dreary autumn, with the best bits of everything.